In Pursuit of Happiness
by sakurablossom031
Summary: He - the captain of the soccer team and heir to one of the largest trading companies in the world - never pursued anyone. Until now. Upped the rating to M!
1. I hate blind dates

AN: I don't own any of these characters – CLAMP does. Not sure what else I have to write in the disclaimer but the only thing in this story that's mine is the plot =) Hope you enjoy and don't forget to review and give feedback after you're done!

**Chapter 1 – I hate blind dates**

Sakura Kinomoto was just your average 22-year-old. Mind you she was gorgeous for her age at 5'7" with auburn hair and stunning emerald eyes. Her long legs and toned body developed through martial arts and cheerleading added to her physical appeal. But she wasn't particularly wealthy, famous, or anything. She was just a friendly physiotherapy student who loved sports, karaoke, and all the other typical girl things. But her life was about to change.

"Pleeeease Sakura! Just this once!" pleaded a hazelnut-haired girl. Sakura groaned as she looked into the eyes of her desperate friend, Chiharu Mihara. She had just asked Sakura to go on a double date with her – something that Sakura couldn't stand.

"Chiharu, you know I don't do blind dates," Sakura said, trying to hide the fact she wouldn't be able to say no to her friend's pleas much longer.

"But I've already agreed to bring a friend! Tomoyo has her photoshoot this weekend, Naoko's meeting with her publisher and Rika's on her honeymoon! You're my only hope!" Chiharu flung her hands up in despair. She was about to give up on asking the stubborn Sakura when she had a brilliant idea.

"I'll do your physics homework next week," said Chiharu. She knew Sakura hated anything to do with math and could literally see Sakura arguing/debating with herself in her head.

"Add in my calculus homework and I'll go," Sakura bargained back.

"Deal!" Chiharu squealed as she hugged her friend, tightly. "I'll meet you at that new Italian place near my house at 6 on Saturday. Dress up! I'll see you then!" She hugged her friend once more before jogging off to catch the bus. Before she got too far she turned around and shouted, "Oh by the way Sakura! We have no homework next week!" She giggled as she turned and ran, leaving a shocked and frustrated Sakura behind.

"How could I be so dumb…" muttered Sakura to herself. She jammed her hands in her coat pocket as she turned to walk home. It was a nice fall day she decided to take the half hour trek home to contemplate this date she had been tricked into going to. Chiharu had attended a charity gala with her mother the night before which happened to be sponsored by the Japanese national soccer team. There, she hit it off with one of the team's best midfielders, Takashi Yamazaki, who had then asked her out on a date. But he had made a pact with another teammate saying that they'd go on a double date if they were to ever meet a girl. Apparently Sakura was the "lucky" girl Chiharu had picked.

She thought back to all the awful blind dates she had been on. One guy had eaten so loud she lost her appetite before the main course had come. One couldn't stop talking about manga and how they should go to the anime convention coming up and gushed over how good she'd look in a Sailor Moon costume. He then asked her to be "his Sailor Moon". A couple of them had tried to get frisky on the first date which ended up with them receiving a black eye and a kick in the gut (the martial arts she had learned from her brother certainly came in handy).Oh and she couldn't forget about her now friend Jesse. All throughout dinner she had wondered if he was actually gay. When she asked him at the end of the night, he burst out in tears and asked how she knew. She simply smiled and said, "It's kind of obvious. It's okay you know." Jesse, soon after, came out of the closet and found a new sense of freedom, which he attributed to Sakura.

Taking out her keys, Sakura opened the door to her two-bedroom apartment that she shared with her best friend, Tomoyo Daidouji. It was in a quiet neighbourhood of Tomoeda and was in an apartment of quiet and pleasant people. Throwing her backpack on the couch she grabbed a glass of water and sighed at the relief of the cold liquid down her throat. "I guess I've had the weirdest and the typical perverts. Nothing I can't handle. Guess it's worth a try." With that, she chose out a dress for the weekend and sat down at her desk to study for her anatomy exam coming up.

_**Two days later, Saturday 5:15PM**_

"HOOEEEE I'm late!" Sakura cried in frustration. She quickly showered and dried off, blow drying her hair and brushing her teeth, while trying to find her necklace on the vanity. She threw on her dress, heels, necklace and a bit of makeup before evaluating herself in the mirror. The dress was a dark pink bubble dress that ended right above her knee. After nodding approval to herself in the mirror, she grabbed her jacket, clutch and keys and ran down the stairs. Taking a cab, she noticed the time was 5:55. Perfect – she'd get there in time. The pulled up to the restaurant and after paying the driver and stepping out of the cab, Sakura took one breath before entering the restaurant. Spotting Chiharu, she walked over and noticed the two men standing as she approached. Being a huge fan of the team and soccer, she was able to identify them instantly.

"Hi Sakura! This is Takashi Yamazaki," introduced Chiharu. Sakura shook his hand of the boyish black-haired boy. He looked like a mischevious boy trapped in a man's body – something Chiharu had always fallen for. She smiled back in approval. She turned to the navy haired man next to Yamazaki and smiled warmly at him. He gave a small smile in return as they shook hands.

"And this… is Eriol Hiiragizawa, your date for the night!"

_**End of chapter 1**_

Muahahaha you thought it'd be Syaoran right? Not yet teehee. I actually wrote through this chapter a lot faster than I thought. Hopefully that's a good sign and I don't have a hard time writing the rest of it! Again, please R/R! I'm open to criticisms because I just want to get better at story-telling so hopefully I can write more fanfiction in the future!


	2. Ow, my head

Hey everyone, thanks so much for adding and reviewing my first chapter! I had a lot of time on my hands yesterday so wrote the second chapter! hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Again, don't own any of these CCS characters – all the credit goes to CLAMP =)

**Chapter 2 – Ow, my face**

Syaoran walked to the fridge for a cold water bottle, dropping his gym bag on the way. After taking a swig of water, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and walked over to the bathroom to take a shower. Syaoran Li was the captain and heartthrob of the national soccer team for Japan. It's no wonder – his chocolate brown hair was just the right amount of messy and his amber eyes held a mysterious personality that you would only get to know if you were close friends or family. And who _wouldn't_drool at the athletic body he had?

After coming out of the shower and drying off, Syaoran put on a pair of grey sweatpants and a dark green t-shirt. He stared around the penthouse and wondered what his teammates/friends were up to. As he was about to call them, he remembered that Yamazaki had asked some girl from the gala out and Eriol had gone with them on a double date. Syaoran sniggered at the idea of a double date. Not only did he not believe any girl would be interested in them for anything other than their fame and fortune, but he had mocked and laughed at Eriol who had bugged Yamazaki about their "if I find a girl you introduce me to one of her friends" pact from a few years back.

Deciding that he wouldn't disturb them on their date, Syaoran sat down at his mahogany desk and turned on his laptop. He decided to catch up on the news of the company. Not only was Syaoran a star soccer player, but he was also the only male heir to one of the largest shipping corporations in the world – Li Trading Co. His family had initially opposed to him delaying taking over the company and pursuing his athletic career but his infamous stubbornness didn't waver in the slightest. As a result, they were forced to let him pursue his career until he retired as long as he kept up with the company news and came to all the major family and company events. The 25-year-old was at the peak of his athletic career and didn't plan on retiring soon, but knew that he would have to retire within the next 5 years if he wanted to effectively take over the company without any board members objecting. With that thought, he got down to reading about the newest contracts and major deals happening on the world.

(AN: Sorry, I'm really not a business person so I don't know any business terminologies or stuff like that!)

_Back at the restaurant, 1 hour later_

Sakura lost count of how many times she had stirred her coffee. Next to her, Chiharu and Yamazaki were really hitting it off with Yamazaki telling outrageous lies and Chiharu giggling and telling him to stop while playfully slapping his shoulder. The flirting would have made Sakura gag out loud if she wasn't in the company of Eriol. She looked at him who seemed overly focussed on his Madeline; he seemed to have been avoiding looking at the other couple as well. She inwardly sighed. He was nice. He was a gentleman. But he was boring. This wasn't going to work.

As they stood to leave, Chiharu turned to Sakura and said, "Sakura, Yamazaki's going to take me home, are you okay on your own? I hate ditching you like this but –"

Sakura laughed and waved her hands in a shooing motion "Go! Go! Don't worry about me. You guys are cute." She grabbed her coat and prepared to leave when Eriol cleared his throat.

"I can drive you home if you'd like," he offered. "Sure! That'd be nice," she replied.

The ride home was silent. It was awkward though. None of them had anything to say and every time she brought up a topic or an issue, he would always agree with her. She tried to bring up controversial topics and even calls from Japan's latest games and Eriol agreed with her frustrations. She tried to push his buttons and said,

"But I guess it's fair. Yamazaki-san was _clearly_ faking it."

"Perhaps," was all that Eriol replied with a smile leaving Sakura to inwardly sweatdrop.

They pulled up to Sakura's apartment and she thanked him for the ride. Not really interested in inviting him up to the flat, Sakura turned to leave but Eriol cleared his throat again. She looked at him quizzically as he looked like he had something to say.

"Um…" he started. Sakura sighed. It looked like he wanted another date or something. She'd have to clear this one up instead of giving him false hope.

"Hiirigizawa-san, you're a _really_ nice guy; probably the nicest and most gentlemanly person I've ever gone on a blind date with. But you're not for me," Sakura stated. She was about to go on when Eriol let out the biggest sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness! I didn't know how to say the exact same thing. You're really pretty Kinomoto-san and you're pretty great too. But I just don't think we click. I don't know what it is." Sakura grinned and did something she's never done on a blind date, "Would you like to come up for tea?" He shrugged and they went up to the apartment with a little less awkwardness between them.

"So what about me doesn't appeal to you, if you don't mind me asking," Eriol asked as Sakura poured hot water into two mugs.

"Mm..I'm a pretty independent person so I need someone who will do half of the initiating of conversations and who's okay with silence and solitude. I like arguing which sounds really weird but earlier, I actually didn't think Yamazaki-san was faking but you just agreed. I need someone who will argue and make me frustrated." She laughed, "please don't think I'm a freak."

But Eriol didn't think she was a freak. In fact, he had thought her description matched a certain cousin and teammate that he had. His face contorted into an evil smile as he schemed to introduce the two when Sakura realized he strangely resembled her best friend. "Oh my god! Are you still looking for a girl? I think have the perfect one!" 'Oh Tomoyo would love this one,' she thought to herself.

Eriol shrugged and said, "Sure. But you don't know me that well, are you sure?"

"I'm positive," Sakura replied.

"You know, I think we're more alike than we think though… or we think the same way because I know a perfect person for you," Eriol said with a twinkle in his eye.

Sakura laughed, "It's alright. I don't usually go on these things and I'm not really looking. I just got into the physiotherapy and sports medicine program at Tomoeda University and I need to focus on my studies. I only agreed to this one because Chiharu agreed to do my math homework for a week."

Eriol studied her thinking that she was quite the driven and studious person – just like Syaoran. If this thing worked out with Sakura's friend, he hoped that she'd be as scheming and devious as he was so that he could finally get his friend to leave work and go on a date. Maybe fall in love. They finished their tea and shared a little more about each other before Eriol stood up to leave.

Before he left he heard a "Wait!" as Sakura handed him a piece of paper with a number on it. "That's my roommate's number. Why don't you come next weekend around the same time and go on a date with my roommate. I'm pretty sure you guys will hit it off." He looked down at the name – 'Tomoyo Daidouji'. "THE Tomoyo Daidouji, founder of Daidouji Designs?" he asked. He had always thought she was quite gorgeous from the media exposure she received and had always wanted to meet her.

"Yup! Anyways next week! Don't forget – ja!" She exclaimed as he walked down the stairs to his car in a dreamy state. Tomoyo Daidouji….

_One week later_…

Sakura groaned as she hit her alarm clock. It was 9 the next Saturday morning and she decided she would leave the house to give her roommate a little privacy. She peeked into Tomoyo's room where the violet haired girl was still sleeping. Sakura smiled – she knew her and Eriol would hit it off but she didn't know they would hit it off before even meeting each other.

Sure, Tomoyo had been sceptical when Sakura had told her about Eriol but Sakura never set her up unless she thought it would actually work out. Most of the guys had come close to Tomoyo's standards, but she had never been sad to see them go. Eriol on the other hand, had texted Tomoyo the day after he met Sakura and they hadn't stopped texting since. Sakura never knew what they were texting but constantly found Tomoyo giggling while staring dreamily at her phone. In fact, they hit it off so well they decided to change their dinner date to a lunch and afternoon date, convinced that they would probably want more time to get to know each other.

Sakura put on a pair of skinny jeans and a yellow hoodie that reached her mid thigh. Stepping on campus, she took in a breath of fresh air and made her way to the library. She was walking by the soccer field when she noticed a bunch of guys playing soccer. She watched for a bit and then turned to leave when she heard a "Watch out!"

She turned and with her quick reflexes, spun and kicked the ball back to the guy who had kicked it. She didn't mean to hit him but when she saw that it hit him square in the face, she gasped and ran over and squatted next to him. The other soccer players were running over too

"I'm SO sorry! I didn't think I kicked it that hard. Are you okay?" She looked him over and squeaked when she realized he had a bloody nose. She fumbled through her bag and found a small packet of Kleenexes and held one up to his nose. His pride was clearly hurt, though, as he pushed her to the ground and grabbed the Kleenex from her hand.

"Hey! What's your problem?" she exclaimed. The other soccer players were snickering muttering things like "He'll never hear the end of this" or "She's cute, but he'll never be nice to her." She looked at him more closely and then realization hit her. She had just kicked the ball into the face of Syaoran Li, who was notorious for his cold personality and stubbornness; especially towards women.

"I'm fine. Leave." He responded as he saw her face being hit with realization. He didn't want another girl fawning over him and sure as hell hoped that she wouldn't try to nurse him back to health or something. But her response was definitely unexpected,

"I guess the rumours of you being a jerk are real after all." She stood up, bowed and apologized to the others for interrupting their game and turned to the direction of the physiotherapy library. 'Interesting,' he thought. He then realized what state he was in and glared at the sniggers he got. When the girl was out of earshot, the other boys exploded into laughter.

"Did you see his face? That's the first rejection he's probably ever gotten! She called him a jerk!"

He muttered incoherent curses to himself, wiped the remaining blood off his nose and turned to the others. "Get back to the game," he said in a low voice, challenging anyone to argue. Sure enough, they returned to the game. But Syaoran's focus was slightly off as his mind kept turning to an emerald eyed girl who had _not_ gushed over him. He'd have to find out more about her; but he groaned as he forgot to ask her for her name.

_2 hours later (noon) after soccer and in the library_

Syaoran walked silently throughout the silent area of the library which was becoming not so silent. Giggles could be heard coming from all corners along with oohs and aahs that were at lower registers. And then he heard a loud "SHH". He had a feeling it was coming from the person he was looking for and he was right. Walking up to the large table she was at, Syaoran sat down across from Sakura and stared at her. The girl mouthed a 'what?' and when she didn't get a response, went back to her studying. Syaoran was about to say something when she threw a paper at him. He opened it up and almost screamed in frustration and embarrassment

_You kind of stink. Like actually. Please go home and shower or I will repeat this out loud._

That was twice in the same day the same girl had embarrassed him. With that, Syaoran stood up, grabbed his stuff and left leaving many people to curiously look back and forth between him and Sakura. As he was exiting the study area, he could hear another loud "SHH".

_2 hours later (2PM) back at the library_

Syaoran had returned to the library, showered and smelling much nicer with a laptop in his hand. Donning a dark green button up and darkwash jeans, he had decided to work on a business proposal he had thought of, at the library. He also wanted to get to know this peculiar girl a little more. When he found her, he plopped down next to her and started to work ignoring the quizzical and slightly annoyed looks he was getting from Sakura. Sakura shook her head. It wasn't like it was her library. She couldn't get upset. But why did he keep following her? Was he some creepy stalker? She shook her head again and got back to reviewing her anatomy notes.

_4 hours later (6PM) at the library_

Syaoran looked at the time. 6PM? He had been here for 4 hours which explains why he had gotten so much done but how did this girl study so much? He looked next to him and found a sleeping Sakura. 'Oh… that's how' he thought to himself. He rested his hand in his left palm and studied her face. She was pretty, he'd admit. She had high cheekbones and the cutest nose. Her long eye lashes looked really soft and her bangs lay across her forehead as if they were painted strokes perfectly added to a painting. He reached out and brushed some strands away from her face when she stirred.

Sakura awoke to a gentle hand brushing hair out of her face. She slowly opened her eyes to find a Syaoran Li touching her face and blushing at her discovery. She had to admit that his hands felt good on her face and she could probably go back to sleep to the sensation but she didn't know the guy which creeped her out a bit. She decided to leave. She rose and packed up her stuff but realized he was doing the same. As she turned to leave, he grabbed her hand and dragged her out the door leaving a trail of gossipy whispers behind.

As soon as they were out the door, Sakura yanked her hand away saying in a slightly raised voice,

"What was that?"

"What do you mean?" Syaoran replied. He was unable to explain his actions to himself. He had never been this attracted to a girl he had met but this one was making him do things he had no reason for doing. So he opted for ignorance

"If you don't remember, we don't know each other! Oh and I kicked a ball in your face and you rudely pushed me when I was trying to help you! REMEMBER?" her rising voice was drawing a crowd. This wouldn't do.

Syaoran replied, "I just wanted to ask you to dinner. And if you said no, I'd take you home because you looked really tired. You were even snoring in the library so you should be thanking me for saving you from embarrassment." He had lied about the last part but thought it'd make him look good. That was confirmed when a small blush rose to her cheeks and she muttered a "thank you…" before looking up.

"I'm not hungry so I'll be going home. You don't have to drive me. I live pretty close." Sakura turned to leave but her stomach betrayed her true emotions as it let out a very audible growl. Syaoran grabbed her hand again and started dragging her to his car, a Volkswagon Jetta. He drove a pretty normal car for such a famous person, Sakura noted. 'That's not what's important! Are you going to go to dinner with this guy?' her head screamed. She looked at his back, something she wasn't able to before and found that even his back was toned and his shoulders were the perfect size. Perfect for leaning against… or hugging… I wonder what it looks like under the shirt… 'WHAT? What am I thinking of' Sakura mentally slapped herself. Before she knew it, she was in the car with Syaoran driving off to who knows where.

Syaoran broke the silence as he parked the car. "So what's your name anyway?"

"Sakura Kinomoto. Your's?" She mentally slapped herself. Of course she knew who he was. She turned and looked at the taken aback expression on Syaoran's face and blushed. "Sorry, that was a stupid question."

His face softened and he couldn't help but smile. Was this nervousness he saw in her? Sakura realized, though, that other than sports stats and rumours, she didn't know much about the guy. As they entered the restaurant and sat in a booth, she decided to do some research on her phone. Syaoran looked up from the menu and smirked when he saw she was Wikipedia-ing him.

"Interested in me that much eh?" He resisted the urge to burst out laughing as her face flushed and she stuffed her phone in her pocket. He reached for her phone before she could do so and began reading the article out loud.

"Listed as one of the most eligible and desired bachelors, Syaoran Li is a famous Japanese soccer player on the national team. He is also the only male heir to Li Trading Co, one of the largest trading companies in the world. Known to have a mysterious personality and extremely hostile to women, little is known about his private life. Rumours have been circulated that he once dated a foreign princess or that he was married to an exceptionally beautiful woman from a rich family who he kept hidden in his mansion."

Syaoran scoffed. The rumours never ceased to amaze him. Who came up with these anyways? He looked at Sakura and asked, "so what is youropinion after reading this?"

Sakura thought a little bit before answering. "Well you did push me to the ground which was extremely un-gentlemanly thus hostile to women, check. But then here you are, kidnapping me and following me around all day… so I doubt you're already married. Or if you are, then you're just a prick." She ended the last bit with a smirk. Syaoran smiled. No girl had ever dared to say bad things about him in fear of getting on his bad side. And here was a beautiful girl who had told him her honest opinion about him. He was liking her more and more.

"Well I can confidently say that I'm not married. And even if I was, I would never keep her locked up in a mansion – I definitely hope the girl I find has a life other than me. And in terms of kidnapping you… I've never been more intrigued by a girl," he said confidently, making Sakura blush. "How did you learn to kick like that anyways?" he asked.

Sakura beamed. "My brother is the retired tae kwon do Olympic champion, Touya Kinomoto. He taught me when I was young so that he could go train without having to worry that I wouldn't be able to defend myself. I took a liking to the sport and kept it up. Although… clearly I was too fast for you."

"Excuse me, I couldn't see because of the light. And who expected a girl to react that fast nevermind kick that hard?" Syaoran defended himself.

"So what? A girl can't react that fast? Buddy, I could kick your ass anytime," challenged Sakura with her hand up.

"Yeah? Bring it. I was trained in martial arts too you know."

"You think that's wise? I already kicked your ass once and you really have nothing to gain. If you win, so what? You beat a girl. If you lose, you lost to a girl – more shame." Sakura reasoned. To be honest, she didn't know if she could handle him. He looked like he worked out and was quite fit. He'd definitely be stronger than her. But he seemed to have fallen for her bluff.

"Fine. You're right." Sakura giggled as she saw his -_- face. This was fun. This was the bickering she was talking to Eriol about. She suddenly felt, what was the word Syaoran had used? Intrigued…

Dinner went on smoothly with them getting to know each other and bickering about plays from previous games. Syaoran was shocked to find that Sakura had known so much about their team. He was glad that she was pursuing a career in sports medicine – maybe they'd be able to work together. And live together. And have children together… 'WOAH,' he thought. 'a little fast there, brain.'

After dinner, Syaoran offered to drive Sakura home. The ride was silent but a very comfortable silence. 'Oh god, I don't even know what to think about this guy anymore,' Sakura thought. 'He's actually quite a decent guy. I wonder if he'll ask to see me again.' She stole a quick glance at him. She couldn't get enough on how good looking he was. He turned to and met her eyes and smiled. She looked away, embarrassed she was caught staring. Soon enough, they had pulled up to her apartment complex.

"I'll walk you up," said Syaoran, reaching to unbuckle his seat.

"No, it's okay!" Sakura said as she stopped his hands. They both blushed at the electrifying contact. "I had a great time – seriously. But I still don't know you and I have a rule of not showing guys where I live on the first date." Syaoran chuckled. This girl was quite the decent one.

"Technically this wasn't a date. But if you want to think of it that way, we could." Syaoran winked and drove off leaving a dazed and extremely embarrassed Sakura.

"Tomoyo?" Sakura called out but the silent response indicated that her roommate wasn't home yet. "Holy crap, that's 8 hours together. What are they doing, planning a wedding?" As soon as those words left her mouth, an overly giggly Tomoyo waltzed through the front door and flopped on the couch, letting out a wistful sigh.

"Sakura, I think I'm in love!" the amethyst –eyed girl exclaimed. She flipped over to face Sakura. "He's the first guy who's been genuinely interested in my work and not for the money. Mind you, he probably has enough money. Anyways…" Sakura just smiled as her friend gushed on about how gentlemanly and polite Eriol was. "Oh and did you know he's cousin to Syaoran Li, therefore has a family share in the Li Trading Co? Seriously all these famous people are related." Cousin to Syaoran Li eh? Her thoughts drifted back to the events of the tried to resist the blush she could feel rising up her cheeks. This did NOT go unnoticed by Tomoyo.

"Is that a blush I see on your face? Over Syaoran Li?" Sakura shook her head a little too hard. Tomoyo sat up and stared at her friend, following Sakura's avoiding eyes. "Spill, Sakura!" Sakura started to tell the events of the day. With each detail, Tomoyo's giggles turned into a silent slightly evil smirk that matched that of Eriol's a week ago.

"Interesting" was all she said. She ran to her room and texted her date the new improvements. Little did she know how much help this would be in his present situation.

_Same time…Syaoran's home_

Syaoran kicked off his shoes and stared at the ceiling as the TV played the news which he wasn't really listening to. He was about to drift off into dreamland where he hoped to meet a certain girl he had just had dinner with when he was interrupted by his loud and intrusive cousin. "I've found her!" he exclaimed. He jumped on top of Syaoran, sitting on him and stared dreamily at the wall. He was so far in lala land that he didn't realize the flailing body beneath his butt that was spewing curses left right and centre.

"She's so angelic! And smart! And her giggles are like music! And…" but he stopped. He got off his cousin and grinned resisting the urge to laugh meniachally. Tomoyo took pleasure in pranking and evil schemes, just like him. Not to mention that she had always wanted to set up the stubborn Sakura with a decent man. Eriol had always wanted to set up the stubborn Syaoran with a woman who would tame him. Yup, this one was a keeper. Just then he received a text. His grin went from slightly evil to absolutely crazy-looking.

Syaoran looked at his cousin who had his craziest grin on. Scared of what would happen if he stayed on the couch he jumped and hid behind the couch. Eriol approached him from the other side and teased, "I heard you got kicked in the face. And by a girl!" Syaoran fumed. He'd have to kills the guys for ratting out his embarrassing movement to his cousin. "And I heard you were told you stunk." Syaoran fumed more. How did he know THAT? No one except Kinomoto would have known that. Did they know each other? He looked back at Eriol who then whispered, "And I heard you went on a date that YOU initiated."

"How did you…" Syaoran sputtered. Eriol grinned in triumph. He didn't even have to do anything! Syaoran and Sakura were already being drawn together without any intervention by him and Tomoyo. 'This would be interesting to watch,' he thought to himself as Syaoran stalked off to his room.


	3. First Base

**Chapter 3 – First Base**

Sakura stifled a yawn as she poured coffee into her travel mug. Turning on the TV she turned to her room to go change before seeing a familiar face on the screen. Okay it was really familiar – it was her.

_The famous Li Syaoran – woman hater no more? Last night, Japan's national soccer team's captain was seen at a restaurant, alone with a woman in her early 20s. Details are still unknown but rumour has it that this night of passion was not their first. We will update you with more as the story unfolds. Nakamura Yukio from Tokyo News._

"Night of passion? Ugh that sounds so scandalous," Sakura muttered as she grumpily put on a Tomoeda University zip-up and a pair of jeans. She had planned to wear her "I love my boyfriend" sweater but thought it probably wouldn't help her today. She grabbed her backpack and shouted a "I'll be home for lunch, Tomoyo!" before leaving the house.

A couple miles away, a sweaty Syaoran was running around the Tomoeda University track. He never used to work out here, but he was hoping that the more time he spent here, the more time he could see a certain girl. He didn't get it. What was it about this girl that intrigued him? Well for starters, he loved how cute she got when they argued. Not to mention how she knew what she wanted to do in life. And most of all he wanted to know more. He wanted to know what her hopes and dreams were, about her family, her childhood, how many kids she wanted…. 'AGAIN WITH THE CHILDREN'. He slowed as he grumbled incoherent frustrations to himself and looked at the time. He turned to hit the showers. It was almost time.

Choosing to ignore the whispers and stares she received from her classmates, Sakura plopped down next to Rika. Turning to her she asked, "I never got to ask you how the rest of your date with Takashi went! Are you guys dating yet?" Rika covered Sakura's mouth and hushed her.

"I really don't want it getting out yet but yes, we're dating," she said with a grin. "But what's this I hear about you and Li? I thought you went home with Hiirigizawa!"

It was Sakura's turn to cover Rika's mouth. "Yes, but you were too lovey dovey with Takashi to realize that Hiirigizawa-kun and I didn't hit it off that well. In fact he actually hit it off much better with Tomoyo! And I met Li by chance, but I'll tell you later, class is starting." They turned to listen to the prof. It was no longer than 5 minutes when a boy sat down next to Sakura. She didn't mind; people sat down next to her all the time in lecture halls. But when he didn't take out his notes, she turned to see who it was and almost yelped in surprise. Next to her was Syaoran Li leaning back in the lecture hall chair and closing his eyes.

"What are you doing here," hissed Sakura. Their class was small so she was pretty sure he wasn't even in her class. Did he even attend school here? How did he even know this was her class? Syaoran opened his eyes, shrugged, and went back to closing his eyes. 'Fine, be that way,' she thought to herself. She went back to ignoring him and taking notes when she felt something heavy on her arm. He had fallen asleep on her arm! And now she couldn't write! She tried pushing him away but every time she succeeded, he would fall right back on her shoulder; this continued for the rest of class.

By the time class was over, Sakura had given up on taking notes and had let Syaoran's head rest on her shoulder. She had to admit it felt… nice. But she refused to let a guy mess up her hopes and reminded herself that this boy had prevented her from fully engaging in this class. As Rika whispered an "I'll see you later" and people started shuffling out of the class (whispering and pointing at the couple), a mischievous idea took form. Sakura pushed Syaoran away from her like she had been doing all class and slowly slipped out of her seat. Not wanting to miss the result, she stood standing at the back of the class and watched as his head rocked back to where she used to be sitting.

3 - 2 - 1

A crash filled the empty classroom as Syaoran let out a moan filled with shock and annoyance at being woken up in such a manner. He then looked around the classroom and found it was empty. Frantically picking up his jacket he turned to run out the door when he spotted Sakura in the back, sneering.

"That's what you get for disrupting my class," she sniggered. "How did you even find my class anyway? And why did you come?"

"I said, I was intrigued by you," reminded Syaoran, making Sakura blush a little. "But being an idiot yesterday, I forgot to get your number. So I found you here. It's actually not that hard to get someone's class schedule if you're as awesome as me," he replied, clearly proud of the powers his famous status gave him.

"Yeah, sorry buddy. There's one too many rumours going about you and myself today so I'd actually rather not repeat a meeting like this so that I don't have people following me asking about you and me." And with that Sakura turned to leave. Or she tried to at least.

Syaoran bounded up the stairs to the back of the class, whipped Sakura around and pinned her to the wall. He put his hands on the wall on each side of her face and leaned in so their faces were barely touching. "I actually don't mind the rumours," said Syaoran in a low voice. "It's been a while since I've been caught up in a love scandal and now that this time, it's true, I actually wouldn't mind answering questions on us. I could make sure they don't bother you, you know." He grinned.

"Are you asking me out, Li?" asked Sakura in a small voice. She wasn't shying away; in fact, she loved the proximity. She could feel her heart racing, her breath quickening, and wanted to close the gap even further. But that's exactly what she wanted to hide in her voice. Unlucky for her, it didn't go unnoticed.

"Depends. Do you want me to be asking you out, Sakura?"

She shivered at the sound of her first name coming out of his mouth; she never thought her own name could sound so pleasing to the ears. Their intimate moment was interrupted, however, as Sakura's phone shrilled "MESSAGE TIME MESSAGE TIME!" She slipped out from under Syaoran's arms and checked her phone.

_~~SAKURA! I'm one model short for the shoot! Can you come? PLEASE?~~_

Sakura sighed as she replied, _~~Sure, I'll be there in a few. But you owe me!~~_ Shutting her phone she turned to Syaoran and declared,

"I am a first year physiotherapy student in sports medicine. I can't afford any distractions right now and you just happen to have the potential to be one, Li."

"Syaoran," he corrected. "I want you to call me Syaoran. It's quite the honour you know; to call me by my first name."

"I will call you whatever I want," spat Sakura as she walked out the door. 'Urgh! I can't allow myself to be distracted! But he keeps doing these things!'

"Wait!" Syaoran ran up to Sakura and started walking backwards to continue eye contact. "Look, I'm sorry. I know you want to focus on your studies and that's fine. I just want to get to know you more ok? Like friends?" Sakura stopped walking and glared into his eyes. They looked genuine. No strings attached. She sighed as she had a huge soft spot for genuine people.

"Fine. You can my number from Hiirigizawa-san."

"How does he have your number," Syaoran asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Secret," replied Sakura as she continued to walk towards the bus stop.

"Sakuraaaaaaaaa," he wined, stomping his feet on the ground.

Sakura stopped, gave him an astonished look and burst out laughing at his childish antics. His face cracked into a boyish grin at seeing her laugh. Sakura wiped a tear before responding, "I went on a double blind date with him and Takashi for my friend Rika. We didn't hit it off but my roommate is practically in love with him right now."

'So that's where he's been all week,' Syaoran realized. He had noticed Eriol running off right after practice without saying where or with whom and was always curious but never pried. His mind wandered to possible ways he could use this new finding. How he would tease Eriol, how he could get them to set him up with Sakura, how they could go on blind dates… His thoughts were interrupted with a shriek of "HOEEEE, I'M LATE!" and before he knew it, Sakura was hailing a taxi and zooming off to who knows where.

Syaoran groaned. That's twice he had forgotten to get her number. 'This girl just keeps distracting me with herself!' Frustrated, he ran his hand through his messy hair and reached into his pocket to answer the phone that had been vibrating for the past couple minutes.

"What?" he answered, venting his anger on the person on the receiving end.

"Woah now, dear cousin," replied a cool Eriol. "No need to spew out your life's frustrations on me." Syaoran grumbled a "Sorry" into the phone. Eriol replied, "I accept your apology. But only on the condition that you help me out. I have a friend who's doing a fashion spread and her two main models have fallen ill. She's got her best friend to model the female role but she needs a guy and having you on the magazine would make her rich. What do you say?"

"No." Syaoran shut off his phone and three seconds later picked up the phone that was vibrating again. "I said no, Eriol!"

"Xiao Lang I hope you're not giving your cousin a difficult time," replied a regal voice on the other side.

"Mother," replied Syaoran. Instantly his shoulders became broader, his voice deepened and become more serious and he attempted to straighten out his hair despite the fact that his mother couldn't hear see his appearance.

"You should listen to your cousin more often. That boy has a lot of sense and you'd be wise to learn a little from him. But I'm calling on a different matter." Syaoran had a feeling he knew what she was going to ask. "There's a rumour that I've heard… is it true?"

Syaoran laughed nervously. "The rumour about the trading contract between us and Hayati Co?" When he didn't hear anything on the other end he coughed to clear his throat and responded, "Yes, mother. I asked a girl out. Her name is Sakura Kinomoto and she's a really decent girl but she doesn't want to date a boy, never mind me. "

"Interesting. Keep me updated, understand? Otherwise, I'll send Mei Ling over there to keep an eye on your relationship."

"Mother, I told you it's not a – " but before he could finish, his mother hung up on him. 'Karma' was all he could think.

His phone rang with a text.

~~_If you're not going to model, at least come pick me up at the Sato studio for the arts. Or I'll show your girlfriend your childhood photos of you dressed in a skirt~~_

"Eriol.." Syaoran growled. His mother and his cousin somehow always had impeccable timing. It was as if they shared a brain. He got in his car and sped off to the studio where he found his cousin waiting for him outside. Eriol motioned for Syaoran to come in who reluctantly complied.

"I want you to meet Tomoyo," Eriol explained while leading a grouchy Syaoran through hallways and eventually to an open area that was dark except for an area illuminated by camera lights. The light revealed a makeshift wall with a frosted window. Leaning against the window was a man with onyx black hair wearing a grey sweater over a slate grey button up shirt with black slacks. He was looking down at a woman who was leaning on him, resting her arms on his shoulders, and focussing on his chest. Wearing a black dress that showed off her curves, her hair fell perfectly on his shoulders.

Syaoran traced her hair up to her face and gaped at what he realized. The sexy woman leaning on the man was Sakura. Not the Sakura who came to school in cute outfits or blushed at his advances, but a new confident and grown up Sakura which made him want her that much more. He growled as the male model wrapped his left arm around Sakura's waist, failing to notice the knowing smiles of the two people approaching.

"Syaoran, I want you to meet Tomoyo. Tomoyo, my dearest cousin, Syaoran Li." Eriol introduced the two and waiting for a response from Syaoran. When he didn't get one, he cleared his throat to which Syaoran turned to Tomoyo.

"It's really nice to meet you. It's nice to know that Eriol can be tamed by _**someone**_," Syaoran smiled genuinely at Tomoyo. Although he didn't approve of her choice of models (particularly the male), she was still his cousin's girlfriend and he had heard she built the fashion empire from the ground up – that impressed him. He couldn't help, though, to look back at the girl who had captured _**his **_heart silently regretting that he didn't agree to Eriol's earlier demands to model.

"You know… we could always switch models for the next set of shots," Tomoyo suggested with a twisted smile. Syaoran whipped around again. He cursed and wondered how he wasn't getting whiplash by now. Without responding, he replied, "Where's the change room?" and as soon as Tomoyo pointed in a direction, he stormed off, determined to reduce the amount of time Sakura had with the other second-grade model. He'd show her what a _**true**_ model could do.

Ten minutes later, Sakura was out in a set of Tomoyo's newly designed jeans and a loose button-up shirt. She sat on the new couch that was set up in front of the window she had just taken photos in front of and waited for her modelling partner, Nick. Nick had come on last minute request by Tomoyo and since the two had modelled together before, the shoot was quite easy. She was preparing herself for the next shoot in which she would be crawling on top of Nick and exposing her midriff to continually accent the curves the jeans would accent. She was so caught up in her thoughts, she didn't realize that a new male model was arriving on the scene.

"So this was where you ran off to," said Syaoran in a low voice so only the two could hear.

"Li?" Sakura asked in a shocked voice. "Where's Nick?"

Syaoran growled and responded in a hurt voice, "Hello to you too. Can we just do this so we can go to dinner?"

"Who said I was going to dinner with you?" asked an offended Sakura. There he goes making plans by himself again.

"We still have to finish our conversation from before. You ran off on me twice today. The first time we were getting somewhere remember?" He reminded her as he moved closer into her and grabbed her hips, pulling her closer. She stiffened and avoided his gaze and chose to focus on his chest instead. He was wearing a v-neck t-shirt and smelled of laundry – her favourite smell. He heard her sniff him in and smirked, "I see you like my smell. You know, Sakura, I think I turn you on a lot more than you like to admit."

Sakura blushed but couldn't find the words to retort his accusation. 'Fine,' she thought. 'Two can play at this game.' She slid her hands from his abs to his hardened chest and started to draw circles on his chest. She looked up to him and stood on her tippy toes to whisper in his ear, "I think I have a lot more control over you than you realize." Before returning to her normal height, she nibbled at his ear; an act that forced him to use all his energy in resisting the moan that wanted to leave his mouth. They stared at each other in a gaze that was half a stare-down and half a result of the raging hormones. Their gaze was interrupted by the photographer who ecstatically exclaimed, "Excellent! Such sexual tension! Such passion! Amazing!" The two realized how close they were and pulled away immediately, scratching the back of their heads in embarrassment. They then focussed their attention to the explanation of the pose they would be shooting next.

Syaoran lay down with his head on the armrest and his left leg bent. Sakura then crawled over him with her legs between his. Because of the earlier teasing, neither could properly look at each other without blushing so chose to focus on other parts of the room. The photographer would not have such shots.

"I need you two to look at each other! Faces closer! Mr. Li! Your hand! Let it explore!"

The two looked at each other and blushed furiously. "I'm going to put my hand on your sides now," warned Syaoran. Sakura gave a slight nod and almost jumped at the contact of his hand along her soft sides. As his hand slid up her sides, he brought her shirt with her, revealing the S line that the photographer wanted to accent the jeans. Sakura tried to break the gaze between her and Syaoran but couldn't. His eyes were so mesmerizing and there was something about _**him**_ that she couldn't get enough of. She subconsciously lowered her head as if she was physically being pulled by his eyes and didn't realize until their foreheads were touching. She also realized that her heart was pounding and the breaths of both individuals were raging. And then she did something she had never done. She initiated the kiss. Mind you, it wasn't a long one, but it was long enough for her to get a taste of him. He tasted like peppermint. And she liked it.

Apparently he liked her taste too because he raised his head to meet her lips again in a longer and more passionate kiss. Their lips parted with his tongue exploring hers. She felt his hands exploring higher and higher, massaging her back and sides. His hands reached under her bra and rubbed her back under the clasp. She moaned at the teasing he was doing and bit his bottom lip in response. They broke the kiss and stared into each others' eyes. Syaoran reached his hand up and tucked her hair around her ear.

"You're gorgeous," he responded.

"You're not too bad yourself," she responded with a grin.

They stayed in that position, grinning at each other with Syaoran rubbing her sides in a comfortable fashion until they heard applause. They looked around and remembered they were actually in a room of people. They rushed to straighten out their clothes and hair and sat on the couch fidgeting in embarrassment. The applause was coming from the photographer who was practically bawling at the great shots he was able to get.

"Er.. I'm going to get changed," mumbled Sakura. She walked off and Syaoran followed suit to the men's change rooms. He finished changing earlier than her and stood outside the women's change room intending to drive her home. He then heard voices coming from inside.

"So what are you going to do? He keeps pursuing you." It was Daidouji.

He heard Sakura sigh. "I don't know. To be honest, his persistence is kind of annoying and I keep saying no to him but he won't listen. He's just another pervert" As she said the last bit, she opened the door and came face-to-face with a hurt Syaoran.

"Is that what you think of me?" he asked in a voice that was growing angry. Sakura stammered incoherent words and sentences as he walked away. She sighed in defeat but Tomoyo wouldn't let her leave it this way.

"Sakura, this is not an asian drama where you allow misunderstandings to guide your relationship. Go clear it up with him!" She pushed her into the direction of Syaoran and grinned as Sakura started to run to catch up to him.

Syaoran was fuming. How dare she call him a pervert! She didn't even know him! And to be fair, she never resisted his advances. She even initiated the kiss back there! He stopped as he heard a "Wait!" coming behind him. It was Sakura. He gave her a glare and fumbled with his keys, trying to stuff them into the keyhole of his car.

"Syaoran!" she panted as she caught up to him. She saw him struggling with his keys and took the opportunity explain. "Look! I wasn't talking about you! Can you just listen to me?" Syaoran cried out in frustration and kicked the car exclaiming, "Why won't you fit, damn key?"

Sakura pointed timidly at another Jetta next to the car they were standing in front of. "Isn't _**that**_ your car she asked. Syaoran sighed in defeat.

"Look Sakura. I don't know why I care so much about what you think but – "

Sakura interrupted him. "Hiirigizawa's right. You have a habit of interrupting people." She giggled at him. "Look, can we just go for a walk?" With no objection, Sakura took hold of Syaoran's hand and led him to the park behind the studio.

"When I was in my first couple years of university, I dated one of my brother's friends – another Olympic tae kwon do athlete. He was really good to me. Mind you, he was always away for competitions and training but we were both pretty good about calling each other. But then he got injured and it devastated him because he wouldn't be able to compete anymore. He needed _**a lot**_ of comforting and tried to find it in me who was in my upper years of university. Now that he was in Tomoeda, we spent a lot more time together and it was starting to feel more like I was taking care of him rather than we were taking care of each other. I left class early to avoid him getting angry for being late for our dates, I couldn't study as much for tests because of his clinginess and I started to resort to lying to get away."

Sakura continued, "I think it eventually reached his breaking point in that he stormed into my apartment drunk one night demanding that I prove my loyalty to him. He … tried to do things to me and I think if Tomoyo didn't come home early that night…" A tear rolled down Sakura's face and Syaoran instinctively wiped it away with his thumb earning him a small smile from her. "That's who I was talking about before. Akihiko left Tomoeda after that, and has been writing me apology letters saying he wants to get back together. He's just returned and has been pestering Tomoyo to give him my new number. I wasn't talking about you."

Syaoran was speechless. He felt sorry for all that she had gone through. He wanted to protect her from this creepy Akihiko. And most of all, he felt sorry for not being willing to understand _**why**_ she didn't want to date during school. He pulled her into a hug and rested his chin on her head.

"I won't ask you out on anymore dates if that's what you want," he offered. To his surprise, she shook her head.

"Akihiko was one case. Whether it's obvious or not, I kind of like you, Li. You're independent, fun, mature…"

"I could have told you that," responded Syaoran earning a light punch on his chest.

"I just need time," explained Sakura. "Especially with your publicity, I need my space. I just don't want you to think I'm going to slow."

Syaoran grinned, "Is that what you were worried about? May I remind you that today's make-out session was initiated by _**you**_." He laughed at her blushing face before resuming serious mode. "But I can wait. Don't worry. Take all the time you need, okay?" He lowered his head to kiss her forehead before taking her hand and walking her to the car. At least he knew he had a chance. And she didn't think he was a pervert.


	4. saviour not needed

Before you read on, I realized I never thanked the many reviewers and readers for the encouraging words! I'm not going to write your names individually but please know that each review you write means a lot to me!

**Chapter 4**

Sakura lay on her bed staring at the ceiling. It had been three days since her confession and she had not spoken to Syaoran since. Eriol had mentioned something about a deal that had to go through that Syaoran was involved in so he was busy at work. But that didn't change the fact that she couldn't stop thinking about him. To make matters worse, she wasn't really sure what to make of their relationship.

**_Flashback**_

_Syaoran pulled up to Sakura's apartment. Before she got out of the car, he said, "I'm not going to ask you out. I don't want to pressure you into anything. I'm going to be busy for the next couple of days but whenever you think you've decided what you want us to be, let me know k?"_

_**End of flashback**_

Sakura rolled over and groaned into her pillow. As much as she was grateful of his patience, she had no idea what to do with the ball that was in her court. On the one hand, she was undoubtedly attracted to the guy. On the other hand, she didn't want to be merely the girlfriend of a rich man; she wanted to establish herself first. Not to mention that she'd probably lose the privacy of her life to the media – isn't that what always happened with celebrities and their girl/boyfriends?

She sighed before lifting herself off the bed and dragging herself to the living room where Tomoyo was watching the news and folding laundry. She plopped herself down on the couch and slumped in her seat. Tomoyo giggled as she saw her friend stare blankly at the TV screen and threw a lone sock at her.

"If you're going to mope over missing Li, at least be useful while you mope and fold some socks," she teased. Sakura gave her a glare but obeyed, searching the basket for the matching sock.

"I just don't know what to do, Tomoyo. This has been the only thing on my mind for the past couple of days," whined Sakura.

Tomoyo put her serious face on and said, "You know, Sakura, think about it this way. If you reject him, you'll still be attracted to him and you'll probably wonder what would have happened if you took the risk. If you accept him, you'll have a good time. If you get hurt after accepting him, at least you'll know you tried, right? Plus! You'll have the experience of dating one of the most high-profile people in all of Asia.. or the world!"

Sakura gave her a small smile. Tomoyo was always the voice of reason in her life. "I guess you're right Tomoyo. It couldn't hurt to try…." Her thoughts started to wander as she tried to think of ways she could tell Syaoran she wanted to give him a chance. 'Hm… maybe a jog will help," she thought as she grabbed her coat and keys.

It felt good to have the wind blow against her face. Her iPod was blaring Girls Generation's "The Boys" as she hummed along. She was right, though – jogging did help clear her thoughts as she had come up with a plan to tell Syaoran she wanted to date him. She'd be really cool and nonchalant about it framing it in a way where it sounded like he wanted to date her so bad and she was giving him a _**try**_. She knew she would have difficulty, though, as she could feel herself blushing every time they were in close proximity. She smiled to herself as she stopped to take a breath at her childhood favourite park – Penguin Park. She sat on one of the swings and rocked back and forth, smiling as she remembered how they met and how despite only being a couple weeks since they had met, she felt like she had known him for at least a year. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't realize someone had stopped in front of her.

"Thinking of me, sweetheart?"

Sakura looked up and almost fell off her swing in surprise. "Akihiko!"

Syaoran sighed as he exited Li Trading Co's headquarters for the first time in three days. He had barely slept and his eating habits had gone down the drain with him ordering take-out for all the meals except the bento Eriol had made him out of pity. But although he had been busy with work, whenever he had a spare moment, he couldn't help but let his mind wander to a particular girl. He ran his hand through his hair emitting a sigh of exhausted frustration. She hadn't called him in the three days to give him her answer and he was starting to wonder if this was, in fact, her answer.

He got into his car and exited the parking lot, deciding to take a slight detour before going home. Perhaps he would visit her and see if she was busy. As he was approaching her apartment, he noticed a man and a woman struggling at a park. He had every intention to drive off and mind his own business until he noticed a swish of auburn hair. His eyes narrowed and he let out a growl when he realized that woman was the one he was driving to visit. Pulling over, he slammed his car door shut as he raged over to the fighting couple.

"Let me go!" exclaimed Sakura as Akihiko tried to pull her into a hug. She beat her fists against his chest but he was a lot bigger and stronger than her despite her training.

"Shhh Sakura," he cooed. "It's okay now. I'm better see? I know you've missed me but we can be together again." He stroked her head causing her to struggle more – 'he's gone crazy!' she thought. She mustered up all her strength and shoved him away, then proceeded to side kick him in the gut. Her kick, which usually made good contact, was easily blocked and a hand snaked around her waist and pulled her close.

"ah ah ah," rebuked Akihiko. "Don't forget you're fighting an ex-Olympian in tae kwon do." Sakura fumed at the position she was currently in and at the fact he was virtually mocking her. She decided to lull him into a sense of security and ran her hand up his chest. He started grinning like a fool and allowed his muscles to relax, allowing Sakura a window of opportunity. Taking his arm over her shoulder, she slipped behind him and flipped him to the ground.

"Don't forget you're fighting an Olympic gold medallist's sister," she hissed. Hearing a slow clapping she looked up and blushed at the person giving her applause.

"Syaoran!" she exclaimed, letting go of a groaning Akihiko. She hadn't dislocated his arm but had definitely made sure he'd be in pain for a week. "What are you doing here?" she asked Syaoran.

"I was just passing by when I saw you were struggling. Looks like you didn't need my help though," he explained. "Do you need a lift home?" he asked.

"Sure!" Although she had handled Akihiko on her own, she was terrified about if he would follow her to her house. She looked back to the crumpled Akihiko and shuddered as she entered the car. She was confused when Syaoran didn't enter the car right away, but went up to Akihiko, squatted next to him, and whispered something in his ear. Sakura looked at him curiously as he walked back to the car, started the ignition, and drove in the direction of her house.

"So," Syaoran said as he turned to Sakura. God, he missed her. If he wasn't so groggy from the lack of sleep, he swore he could have pulled over and kissed her at that moment. "As your saviour, do I get the honour of hearing your answer?"

"Technically," she teased, "you didn't save me." Giggling at the pout forming on his face, she replied, "I thought about what you said. And I think I'd like to try us out."

Syaoran inwardly sighed in relief. "I know. I'm glad you realized how irresistible I am," he responded with a confident smirk. They pulled up to Sakura's house and Sakura turned to face him. Scoffing at his previous remark, she took his face in her hands.

"You and that ego are going to be the death of me one day." She gave him a quick peck on the lips and turned to leave the car, wanting to hide her face that was rapidly turning scarlet red. Syaoran grinned devilishly at her and suddenly lost all sense of sleepiness. Pulling her to prevent her from leaving, he pulled her towards him and buried his face in her shoulder. Sakura giggled as he breathed into her neck and tickled her with his hair. She could get used to this…

Thanks so much for reading! Apologies that it's such a short chapter – school is actually killing me right now but I promise despite that, I'll try to upload short snippets of our favourite couple. Until then, R/R!


	5. Second Base

**Chapter 5 – Second Base**

AN: Thanks so much for all your reviews! I'm done midterms now so I have a ton more time for S&S!

Please enjoy!

Thanks to Hatsuki for advising me to proofread! I guess writing at 4 in the morning doesn't help my grammar!

A month had gone by in their relationship, but it certainly didn't feel like it. Sakura had never felt this happy, even before Akihiko's crazy days. Syaoran was a really sweet guy - picking her up from school, taking her to dinner, and even bringing her meals during her stressful midterm seasons. Rumours were spreading like wildfire about the couple but Syaoran had done a pretty good job about ensuring that the media wouldn't disturb his new girlfriend.

Syaoran, on the other hand, received tons of teasing from Eriol as well as his sisters and his cousin Meiling, who were all overly excited to meet this girl. The most excited, however, was his mother. She had called a week ago insisting that he bring Sakura to China to meet the family. Syaoran insisted that they had only been dating a month and he didn't want to scare her off with the "meet the parents" step yet. But Syaoran hadn't inherited his stubbornness from no one. Yelan had pulled the "I'm your mother" card and Syaoran had no choice but to agree.

Fast forward to the present day; Syaoran and the team were finishing up practice for their upcoming exhibition match with China. Sakura had just arrived and sat in the players box, watching Syaoran jog around the field to cool down. His face was streaked and sweat slowly rolled down his jawline and down his Adam's apple. As the practice ended, he jogged over to her and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Just let me have a quick shower ok?" he asked. She looked at her watch, and frowned. "Can't you just shower at home? We're supposed to meet Tomoyo in an hour."

"If I remember correctly, last time I sat next to a certain someone after practice, she demanded I go home and shower right away since I stunk so much," he reminded her. "Don't worry, it'll be quick." And with that, he pecked her on the check again and ran towards the change rooms. True to his word, he returned 15 minutes later, his hair still wet and sexier in his team zip-up and jeans.

They arrived at Sakura's house where Tomoyo had laid out matching outfits for them. The first time Tomoyo had created matching outfits, Sakura and Syaoran both found it so ridiculous, they had left it in the apartment and gone out in their own clothes. They had come home to a furious Tomoyo who had barricaded all the doors and windows and wouldn't let Sakura in until they agreed to wear whatever Tomoyo had made them for the rest of the year.

Today's outfits were elegant but fun. Sakura had a spaghetti-strapped cocktail dress that was green with black polka-dots. Tomoyo had left Syaoran a dark green dress shirt with a black skinny tie and beige slacks. After quickly changing into their clothes, they drove off to meet the slightly obsessed fashion designer. As soon as they pulled up to the restaurant, a squealing Tomoyo came running up to them and hugged Sakura, cutting off her circulation.

"Tomoyo! Cant- breathe-" choked Sakura.

"Gomen!" apologized Tomoyo. "But you two look so cute! And that's all thanks to who?" she put her hands on her hips expecting only one answer.

"Only the greatest fashion designer in the world," recited Sakura rolling her eyes in the process. She grinned when she saw how happy that made Tomoyo. 'So easy to please,' she thought. Following Tomoyo into the restaurant, she found Eriol already at a table. Looking up from his menu, he gave a small wave before going back to studying what was on the menu. The other three sat down, decided what to eat, and then ordered.

"I can't believe we haven't gone on a double date until now!" exclaimed Tomoyo.

"Well _**someone**_ has been a little busy with their publicity going through the roof!" retorted Sakura. "How is all that going anyways?" As the girls caught up on Tomoyo's growing success, Eriol nudged Syaoran under the table.

"So, has my cute little cousin officially fallen in love?" he asked with a wink.

"Ew, please don't wink at me ever again," coughed Syaoran.

"I heard Auntie Yelan wanted to meet Sakura," whispered Eriol. "Have you told her yet?"

Syaoran sighed. "No, I don't want to freak her out. I mean we've only dated for a month."

"And?" asked Eriol. Syaoran looked at him quizzically. "Do you think it's going anywhere?" he clarified

"I don't know. I mean how are you ever sure?" asked Syaoran. He gazed over to a laughing Sakura who turned and caught his eye. She winked at him and then resumed talking to Tomoyo. It was a simple wink but it was enough to get his heart to skip a beat. He didn't know how she did it, how she made him feel like a teenage boy going through puberty all over again. 'Aw crap, I think I'm in love,' he thought.

After they finished dinner, they parted ways. Eriol took Tomoyo back to his house and Syaoran drove Sakura home. They reached Sakura's apartment complex and chatted on the bench outside the complex's fence. This was a routine that they had developed and Sakura was impressed when Syaoran never insisted on coming up to her apartment. She appreciated to space he was giving her but decided she trusted him enough to take their relationship to the next level.

"Do you want to come up?" asked Sakura.

"You sure?" Syaoran asked.

"Yeah, we've been dating for a month but I feel like it's been a year," confessed Sakura, smiling at the man in front of her. She had long known that she had fallen in love with the man, but it wasn't until today that she decided to put her complete trust in him. Syaoran wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into an enveloping hug.

"Will you come to Hong Kong to meet my family?" he mumbled into the top of her head.

Sakura wiggled her hand out of his hug and held his cheek. "Really?" she asked. It was her turn to ask him if he was serious.

"Yeah, they're really eager to meet the first girl that Syaoran Li fell in love with," he said proudly.

"There's not that much to get excited about, besides I –" she stopped. "Did you just say… fell in love with?" Sakura asked hoping she had heard him right.

"Damn right I did," replied Syaoran giving her a peck on the lips. "Now are you going to visit my family or not?" he asked.

"Of course," Sakura answered. "I guess you'll eventually have to meet my family too considering you're the man I currently love." He grinned from ear to ear, extremely happy with her response slash confession. He leaned in for a kiss when he saw a flash go off. Whipping his head to the bush in front of them, he stormed over to the bush and grabbed the owner of the camera by the collar.

"What do you think you're doing," he hissed giving the reporter his most chilling death glare.

"Naoko Yanagisawa, Tokyo Times," introduced the girl shaking as she handed Syaoran her business card. "I didn't mean to disturb you. I'm just a fan of you two and was hoping the rumours were true." Tears were starting to well up in the eyes of Naoko. She had walked by the couple by chance and was excited to get a picture that would definitely get her promoted. However, she had made the rookie mistake of forgetting to turn off her flash. Now she was shaking at the hands of a man was rumoured not to have the word "mercy" in his vocabulary.

"Syaoran, stop," said Sakura in a soft voice. She looked over at the junior reporter and sized her up. The girl looked around her age and by the way she spoke and the rookie mistake she made, Sakura didn't see her as a threat. She walked up to the girl as Syaoran let go.

"Hi! I'm Sakura," she introduced with a smile.

Naoko stared at her in a mixture of shock, gratitude, and awe at the kindness of this girl in front of her. Such a contrast to the gruff man next to her.

"N-N-Naoko Y-Y-angis-s-aw-wa," stuttered Naoko in response.

Sakura giggled at her nervousness which helped Naoko relax a bit. "You don't have to be scared of us. This one's harmless," she said as she poked Syaoran in the ribs. He had relaxed a bit since Sakura took over but did not look pleased with the young reporter who was avoiding his gaze. "Do you mind erasing those photos though?" asked Sakura with a sweet smile. "We'd like to let people know about us at our own pace if that's okay."

Naoko nodded energetically and proceeded to delete the photos. It would mean her career would not skyrocket, but she figured developing a relationship with this couple would be a greater investment than making an initial advancement. As if reading her mind, Sakura offered,

"If we ever decide to go public, I'll make sure to call you Naoko-chan," and with a wink she took Syaoran's hand and led him up to her apartment. Naoko gazed after her in amazement and suddenly had an urge to make a fanclub for this angel that had captured the heart of the cold-hearted Li.

*********** Up at the apartment**********

"You know, you were too easy on her," growled Syaoran as he lay his head in Sakura's lap. The two were sitting on the couch discussing the recent events. If it were up to him, the reporter would have been sued for anything possible and would never be able to report again. Sakura took the opposite approach and befriended her. _**Befriend**_ a reporter? He had never thought to do that and loved that his girl had thought of such a thing.

"Mou Syaoran," she pouted as she played with his hair. "You can't always bully people around even if they're mean to your first. Besides, didn't you see how much you scared her?"

"Fine," he conceded. "But what's this about us going public?" he asked as he buried his face in her stomach. She giggled at the contact provoking him to plant butterfly kisses on her stomach, tickling her more.

"Syaoran, stop!" she cried between fits of giggles. He grinned as he pinned her down and loomed over her, faces just inches apart and chests heaving with heavy breathing.

"I just thought… since we're meeting each others' parents… it'd be easier for us to go out to places if people knew about us… " she explained. When Syaoran didn't respond, she added hastily, "But if you don't want to, I know you like your privacy, and all and –" She didn't get to finish as Syaoran captured her lips in a short but tender kiss.

"I want to world to know that Sakura Kinomoto is no longer on the market at that I'm quite the lucky guy," he answered. Seeing her blush, he sighed and cockily added, "the female population is going to mourn."

Sakura laughed and stuck out her tongue. Syaoran dove in a wrapped his lips around her tongue leading to a steamy kiss. He was so distracted by her strawberry flavoured lips that he failed to notice a set of small hands unbuttoning his shirt. He broke the kiss when he realized that Sakura was pulling off his shirt then proceeded to trace the lines of his abs.

His lips came crashing down her hers, and she felt his hands taking hold of the straps of her dress, softly caressing her arms as he pulled them down. She moaned as he started to peck his way down her jawline, then her neck, and especially when reaching her collarbone. She continued to rub her hands down his chest – God she loved the toned-ness.

Syaoran shimmied the dress down to her waist, leaving her exposed with just a strapless green bra to hide her breasts. Sakura blushed and looked away from Syaoran's gaze, trying to distract herself with his chest. Syaoran turned her chin towards him and whispered, "You're gorgeous, you know that?"

Blushing even more, Sakura took his face in her hands and brought him down for a short kiss on the lips. And then again on the cheek. And then again on his chin. And then again on his Adams apple. As she worker her way down his neck, sitting up to gain better access to his chest, Syaoran closed his eyes to allow himself to fully take in the pleasures he was experiencing. They were only kissing yet Syaoran felt like he could do this all day.

Deciding to move a little further, Syaoran stopped Sakura's kisses and proceeded to suck on her collarbone, earning him a whimper of surprise followed by a moan as he moved his lips lower on her chest. Reaching around, he unclasped her bra, freeing the two mounds, and laid her down again. He flicked her right nipple and traced circles around the left one. Sakura sighed in pleasure as he took the right breast in his mouth and proceeded to suck while flicking the tip with his tongue. As he continued while massaging the left breast, Sakura ran her hands up and down his back, causing him to shudder.

Her hands wandered further south and she giggled as she felt how excited Syaoran had gotten in the past couple minutes. Taking his length in her small hands through his pants, she explored different pressures, movements and touches she could do with her hands. She smirked as she earned a half growl, half moan when she touched the tip of his shaft on her way to undoing his belt. Before he could process what had happened, she had him out of his pants, leaving him in his dark green boxers. Seeing the state he was in, he smirked evilly and reached to pull her dress down when the front door unlocked.

"Shit, Tomoyo's back," hissed Sakura, frantically trying to find her clothes that were strewn all over the place. They didn't have enough time, though, as they faced a gaping Tomoyo and a grinning Eriol.

"Turn around, you too!" shrieked Sakura as she gathered up all her clothes and ran into her room. As the two turned around, Syaoran managed to put his pants back on, grabbed his shirt, and turned to follow Sakura. He was stopped, however, by Eriol who cleared his throat. He turned to glare at him but followed his finger which was pointing at a bra peeking out from under the couch.

"Thanks," he muttered, picking it up and followed Sakura into her room, leaving the remaining couple to grin at each other.


	6. Family Affairs

**Chapter 6 –Family Affairs**

AN: You guys are way too gracious in your encouraging comments! Sorry for the slow update – I've actually had very little inspiration for the next bit but I have a general idea where it's going now so that's a good sign! This chapter's a little more passive but hopefully it's still good! Don't forget to review!

Sakura squinted her eyes as the sun shone in through her curtains. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and came face to face with the sleeping face of Syaoran. She blushed as she remembered the events of last night.

**Flashback**

_A panicking Sakura was pacing around the room muttering incoherent phrases included words like "embarrassing" or "perfect timing." Meanwhile, an amused Syaoran was sitting on her bed, still shirtless. He had come in shortly after her and had handed her her forgotten bra causing her to groan in despair. _

"_Relax, Sakura. It's not like we're children," he assured her. "Adults do fool around you know."_

_Sakura threw up her hands in frustration. "I'll never be able to face those two again! So embarrassing!" _

_She had put her dress back on since entering her room but the fact that she wore no bra made Syaoran's little friend slightly excited. Syaoran stood up and grabbed her by the waist emitting a slight growl._

"_So are you embarrassed of me?" he asked in a low voice. _

_Sakura sputtered, "N-n-n-o-o. But but –"_

_Syaoran captured her lips in a gentle kiss and responded, "It's fine. If Eriol says anything, I'll beat him to a pulp. And it's not like you wouldn't tell Tomoyo, right?"_

_Sakura sighed in defeat. "I guess so… but it's still embarrassing to get caught."_

_Syaoran chuckled. "Tell you what, next time we decide to have fun, we'll go into a secure location, ok?"_

_Sakura nodded meekly and leaned into his chest. She still felt a little rattled from being discovered but relaxed in his embrace. He had agreed to keep her company and they stayed up talking about random things._

_**End of flashback**_

She smiled. They had fallen asleep like that in each other's arms. She brushed away a strand of hair from his face, causing him to stir from his sleep.

"Wake up, sleepy head," she whispered. She giggled as his face scrunched up, clearly not pleased that he would need to wake from his sleep. She turned to get washed up but yelped as a pair of strong arms pulled her back down by the waist.

"5 more minutes," mumbled a groggy Syaoran. Sakura smiled as she felt his breath tickling the back of her neck. Soon enough, she was also drifting off into sleep again.

For the second time that morning, Sakura woke up to sun in her face. She turned to find an empty bed and frowned at the lack of a note or any sign of a goodbye. She got up and put on a large sweater that draped down to her knees and yawned as she opened her door. Her morning annoyance subsided when she found Syaoran dressed and cooking pancakes. He turned to her and smiled, seeing her dishevelled hair and dressed in the massive sweater.

"Come eat. It's almost done," he said. When he saw her looking around for something he chucked and assured her, "Tomoyo's gone. She left a while ago. You're lucky I was the one who got teased."

She let out a sigh of relief and shifted her gaze to the table. Her eyes widened at the table set with different types of pancakes, professionally cut fruit, homemade whipped cream and from the looks of it, freshly squeezed juice.

"You did all of this?" she exclaimed. This man was constantly full of surprises.

Syaoran chuckled at her cute response and ushered her to the table, placing the fork and knife in her hand as she was still unable to process everything. Her stomach soon woke her with a growl and she started to dig in. Seeing that his girlfriend wouldn't starve of shock, Syaoran also dug in, occasionally sneaking glances of Sakura who had started humming and bouncing in glee at the delicious food entering her stomach.

Their breakfast was interrupted by the shrill of Syaoran's phone. Before Sakura could peek at who it was, Syaoran quickly grabbed it, and headed for Sakura's room. She frowned as she heard a girl's giggle on the other end before Syaoran quickly closed the door. Her mind went into a flurry of questions. Who was it? Was it a girl? Why was he so eager that she wouldn't see? Maybe he's betrothed to some daughter of another famous CEO? Sakura shook her head and remembered Tomoyo's words. This was not some Asian drama. Things like that didn't happen in real life. Or did they?

Before she could question anymore, Syaoran returned to the table and waved a hand in front of her face.

"Sorry," he apologized. "That was… a friend." Sakura didn't miss the pause and decided to ask. "Which friend?"She could sense his uneasiness and didn't feel anymore assured when he responded, "If my mother has her way, she'll be a part of my family really soon." Sakura groaned inwardly but hid her disappointment with a smile and a mere "Oh, I see."

Syaoran gave her a questioning look but decided against it when she resumed eating.

"I have practice today so I'll be gone for most of the day but I made reservations tonight at Chez Pierre. Is that okay? I know you have class until 6 so I can come pick you up from school."

Sakura nodded before resuming eating.

Syaoran checked his watch before getting in his car. It was just before 6. Practice had ended late and he was rushing so that he wouldn't keep Sakura waiting. He was really nervous for tonight's dinner and didn't know how Sakura would react. To be honest, he had sensed some sort of easiness from her at breakfast but didn't want to pry. He partially thought his nerves were making him paranoid.

He pulled up to the university and was relieved to find that Sakura wasn't outside yet. He texted her to let her know where he was, and soon enough she was running to the car. She opened the door, and caught her breath as she sat in the passenger seat.

"I'm so sorry!" she apologized. "Class ended so late."

Syaoran chucked. "I just got here too so don't worry. Practice ended late and I was actually worried you'd be waiting for me." The rest of the car ride was silent allowing Syaoran's mind to shift back to the events he planned tonight and turned to a smiling Sakura. He took a deep breath before speaking.

"So… I invited some other people tonight," he started. Sakura's mind drifted to this morning's phone call and her face blanched.

"I hope you don't mind," he said as he pulled up to the restaurant. He pulled the key out of the ignition and reached for the door before Sakura burst out, "Are you betrothed?" She closed her eyes hoping that it would prevent an answer from coming.

Syaoran stared at her in shock which turned into a smile which turned into full out laughter with him gripping his sides to ease the cramping.

Sakura frowned at his response and crossed her arms.

"Where did you get that idea," asked Syaoran. "I may be pretty rich and powerful but no one tells me what to do, never mind who to marry."

Sakura sighed in relief. It was true. In the past month and a half that she had known the guy, he had displayed a stubbornness like no other. She should have known that she was overreacting.

"Then who was that girl this morning?" she asked shyly.

Syaoran got out of the car and came around to the passenger side squatting as he opened the door. "Sakura, I love you. And you only." He held her hand and pulled her out of the car. "Trust me," he whispered as he led her to the restaurant. After stating his name for their reservation, the starstruck hostess led them to a larger table in a secluded room. When they opened the door, all of Sakura's nerves and apprehensions about Syaoran's extra invites disappeared.

"Otou-san!" she exclaimed jumping into the arms of a greying man with glasses. She turned to the taller dark-haired man next to him and hugged him shouting, "onii-chan!" She then turned to his wife and held her hands before asking, "Was that you on the phone this morning, Nakuru-chan?"

Nakura gripped Sakura in a tight hug before exclaiming in a high excited voice, "Yes! I'm sorry we didn't tell you but Syao-kun wanted it to be a surprise!" Sakura turned, smirking at her boyfriend's annoyance at his new nickname. "When he first called me to ask to meet the family I was soooooo excited!" she said while jumping up and down.

Touya rubbed his temples and told Nakuru to sit down but she was too into telling her story. "I was actually kind of shocked because he called me late last night from your phone saying he'd rather call 'sister-in-law' than 'brother' or 'father' on your phone. Apparently you were sleeping. You two," she continued with a sly grin and wagging her finger. "Naughty, naughty."

"YOU WHAT?" shouted Touya. He had every intention to strangle the brown-haired boy in front of him.

"Oops!" said Nakuru. "I don't think I was supposed to say that part. Honey! It's okay! Nothing happened! I was kidding!" she cooed and calmed down her husband with her crazy antics.

Sakura stared on slightly embarrassed at being exposed by Nakuru. Syaoran on the other hand was utterly confused as to how a hyper person like Nakuru would be able to calm down someone at all. He cleared his throat and did a full out bow to the ground in front of Sakura's father, Fujitaka. When he rose, he bowed, standing up, and said, "Fujitaka-san, my name is Syaoran Li and I am currently dating your daughter." He didn't raise his head from the bow until Fujitaka put his hand on his shoulder.

"Sakura's already told me quite a bit about you," he responded. Syaoran looked at Sakura. "I'm thankful for you, my boy. You're the first person who's been able to break that thick skull of hers for a while."

"Otou-san" grumbled Sakura. She didn't think she was _**that**_ stubborn. She turned to face her brother who was currently glaring at Syaoran.

"Onii-chan it's not nice to stare," she said with her hands on her hips.

"I don't know what you see in this gaki," he responded still not taking his eyes off of Syaoran. Sakura frowned, walked over to her brother, and stomped on his foot. He howled in pain and glared at Sakura.

"What was that for?" he said through his gritted teeth.

"For calling him a gaki," she answered. "Be lucky we're in public or I would step on your other foot!" She stuck out her tongue like a 4-year-old bringing a smile to Fujitaka and Syaoran's faces.

"Alright kids, let's break up the fight," said Fujitaka. They all sat down and ordered. Touya resumed his glaring at Syaoran causing Sakura to sigh.

"Syaoran saved me from Akihiko," she announced. Touya's head whipped to her and there was a fire of rage in his eyes. Technically Sakura was able to take care of herself but Syaoran chose not to bring up that tiny detail at this moment.

"That guy is back?" he asked.

Sakura nodded and looked at her father. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't want you to worry."

Fujitaka put a hand around her shoulder and looked at Syaoran. "Even more of a reason to trust Syaoran, ne?"

Sakura nodded and looked to her brother, expecting approval. Touya sighed and responded, "I guess a gaki is the best match for a kaijuu."

Sakura rolled her eyes and refused to retaliate. She was, after all, a classy lady. The rest of dinner went by smoothly. As much as they hated to admit it, Syaoran and Touya had a lot in common as national athletes. Nakuru was giggling with Sakura and asking her millions of questions on her and Syaoran's relationship while Fujitaka asked the occasional business question to Syaoran. By the end of the night, it was an unspoken consensus that the Kinomoto family was pretty much ready for Syaoran to be a part of the family.

******_**TWO WEEKS LATER************_

A pile of shredded napkins was starting to form in Sakura's lap as she waited for Tomoyo to do her hair. Today was the day where she'd meet Syaoran's family and to say she was nervous was a huge understatement. In the past couple of days, Sakura felt like she had been bombarded with new information about Syaoran's wealth. She had had no idea he was such an important person in Hong Kong. From the private jet that picked them up in Tomoeda to the limousine to the mansion they were currently staying in, Sakura had been surprised every step of the way. Sakura had thought the press in Japan was bad but Syaoran had to exit first in to literally a sea of reporters so that they wouldn't be found out yet.

Here, she sat, in the west wing of Syaoran's summer house while Tomoyo straightened her hair so that she could meet one of the most influential families in the world. She had a sudden urge to barf.

"Can you please relax?" asked a frustrated Tomoyo. "Your hair has been doing crazy things it's never done and I'm going to blame it on your nervousness. And stop ripping up that poor tissue – you're going to end up with a pile of dust in your hands!"

Sakura groaned. "I don't know what I'm doing Tomoyo. I love Syaoran and all, but this is ridiculous!" She attempted to move her head but Tomoyo had a firm grip on her hair and from past experience, Sakura learned one thing – never move when Tomoyo has a hot flat iron in her hand. "Who am I to date him? Doesn't someone more influential, classy, rich, powerful suit him? Heck, I'm not even a money-making individual yet!"

"Sakura you and I know both that Syaoran has never brought anyone home," responded Tomoyo. "Besides! I'll be there with you."

"But look at how successful you are," whispered Sakura.

Tomoyo stopped her ironing for a bit and turned Sakura's chair to face her. "Yes, but I pale in comparison to your personality, Sakura."

Sakura blushed at her friend's confession and responded, "That's not true."

Tomoyo turned her back around and resumed ironing her hair. "It is and you know it. I'm always too shy to go out and socialize. I think especially with Li's reputation, what he needs is exactly someone like you."

"Thanks Tomo," responded Sakura in a small voice. Tomoyo was right… again. She would just have to try her best. If they didn't like her, then they didn't like her. But if she was too scared to try, then it was a guaranteed fail.

Four hours later, Sakura stood in front of a full length mirror gaping at her appearance. Tomoyo had done it again with a pink evening gown that flowed to her feet. The top hugged her slim waist and silver gems studded the sweetheart neckline that accented her bosom. Her hair was pinstraight with one side pulled up and fastened with a cherry blossom hairpin. She didn't know how Tomoyo had managed to make her look good and look good herself as she studied her best friend. Tomoyo was wearing a similar dress but in violet and had her hair in a tight knot. The two giggled at each other in excitement before heading down to meet their partners.

Syaoran paced at the bottom of the stairs as he loosened his tie. He had never been so nervous for a family reunion and his previous phone call had not eased his nerves in any way. He had attempted to bribe his sisters and cousin into being civil and passive for when they met Sakura but was met with the innocent response of, "but baby brother, we're always passive and civil!" Right.

He inhaled deeply and planned to release it in a sigh but the breath got caught in his chest as he gaped at the beauty descending the stairs. She had her face focussed on the stairs in hopes of not falling and only lifted her head when she reached the bottom of the stairs. She flushed at the sight of Syaoran in a black suit with a skinny black tie but giggled at his face that was plastered in a big 'O'. Noticing his loosened tie, she reached out and tightened it, snapping him out of his trance.

"You look amazing," he beamed.

"You're not bad looking yourself," she smiled back. She took his arm as he led her to the limo waiting, outside. As soon as they, Tomoyo, and Eriol, had sat down and her hand left his arm, her nerves returned to her and she wrung her hands in anticipation. Syaoran looked over and took her hands in his, allowing her to breathe properly again.

"Sorry," she whispered. "It's just… I'm not used to this kind of thing. And your family's so important. And I'm not really someone who matches you. And-"

"If you weren't someone who didn't match me, would you be sitting here, Sakura?" questioned Syaoran with an amused look on his face. Sakura weakly smiled back as he repeated the same comforting words that Tomoyo had said just earlier. But hearing it directly from him made her feel much better.

"Don't worry," continued Syaoran. "I spoke with my sisters this morning and they love you already. Just.. be prepared… they're a little… crazy," he said cautiously. Eriol chuckled but didn't say anything as Tomoyo and Sakura gave him a questioning look.

Soon enough, they pulled up to what looked like a castle and were greeted by an elderly man with silver-rimmed glasses.

"Wei," smiled Syaoran. "It's been too long."

"It sure has, Master Li," replied the elderly gentleman as he bowed low. "And I'm assuming this is the lovely Miss Kinomoto?" Syaoran nodded and Wei turned to Sakura, giving her a gentle smile before bowing and introducing himself. "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Kinomoto. I am Wei, the family butler. If you need anything during your stay, do not hesitate to ask me."

Sakura bowed low and responded, "Mr. Wei, you can just call me Sakura!"

Wei nodded and turned to Tomoyo. "And Miss Daidouji. It's an honour. I must say, you will have a hard time escaping the Master's sisters. They love your creations and if they could have their way, they would probably keep you locked up in the mansion."

Tomoyo giggled. "I'm sure they're not that crazy Mr. Wei. And feel free to call me Tomoyo!"

Syaoran and Eriol exchanged glances as they both thought the same thing. The Li women were definitely that crazy. Maybe even crazier.

As if on cue, shrieking came from upstairs as heels could be heard clattering down the stairs.

"Are they here?"

"Fuutie stop pushing!"

"Fanren! I want to see them too!"

"Meiling! You're going to make me fall down the stairs!"

Sakura and Tomoyo laughed nervously at each other, causing the girls to stop their bickering. Their faces went from awe of the two beauties before them to giggles to high pitched laughter as they surrounded the two girls in excitement.

"They're so cute!"

"This one has really unique eyes!"

"Daidouji-san we LOVE your creations!"

"You must be Sakura! How did you make our little brother fall in love with you?"

The two girls looked utterly frightened at the advances of the Li women and would have probably been traumatized for life if it weren't for a loud clearing of someone's throat. Everyone looked up and saw a middle-aged woman halfway down the stairs in a dark maroon dress. She had an air about her that commanded attention and the poise and grace that came with being wealthy. Sakura was at a loss for words and started to tremble in her place. Syaoran caught this out of the corner of his eyes and wrapped her arm around his, squeezing in her hand in assurance.

This did not go unnoticed by everyone else as the Li women started to giggle while Yelan Li chuckled at the nervousness of the young girl in front of her. "There's no need to be nervous my dear. If Syaoran has brought you to meet us, it means you're family now," she explained. "Now you must all be hungry," she said before ushering them into the dining hall.

Dinner went by pleasantly with Tomoyo telling the story of Syaoran and Sakura's first meeting and development of feelings. Meiling and the four sisters giggled and even Yelan let out the occasional chuckle. When Tomoyo got to the part about catching them in their apartment, she told the story that she had caught them kissing but the four sisters glanced at each other and grinned, knowing that it was probably more than kissing.

As they were getting ready for bed, a shriek was heard from Sakura's room. Syaoran who was in the process of getting dressed after his shower rushed to her room, alert for any intruders. He was met with fire sprinklers spouting water within the room. 'That's strange,' he thought. 'Why is it only in her room?' But before he could figure out the cause, his attention diverted to a Sakura who was drenched in her nightgown that was becoming slightly see through. He blushed furiously as he grabbed some of her essential belongings and pulled her out of her room and into his. On the other end of the hall, he missed a group of girls high-fiving each other.

As he picked up the phone to call Wei, Sakura noticed that she was drenched and quite… exposed. Looking up she also noticed that Syaoran had run to her in nothing but a pair of sweatpants and his toned chest was calling out her name. She looked away, face flushed, as he hung up the phone and turned to face her. He rummaged through his drawers and found a t-shirt and a pair of shorts, handing it to her.

"Change out of your clothes, before you get a cold," he said gently.

Sakura hesitated and looked at the clothes before asking, "Where am I going to stay?" She somehow knew the answer to the question but wanted to confirm.

"You could stay with Tomoyo," he said watching her face fall. "But I'd prefer if you'd stay with me." He chuckled as her face brightened significantly. "Are you not going to take these clothes? Because I could sleep with you the way you are now," he said seductively inching closer to her body.

Sakura didn't know if she was shivering because of the cold or because he was making her embarrassed. Either way, she grabbed his clothes and rushed into the bathroom. On the other side of the door, she could hear a faint chuckle. His t-shirt was way too big for her and she had to roll up the shorts a good 5 times before they would stay on her slim waist. As she emerged from the bathroom, she saw Syaoran, still shirtless, pulling back the covers and getting ready for bed.

"Aren't you going to put on a shirt?" she asked timidly. Secretly she didn't mind but was afraid that she wouldn't be able to sleep with that godly figure next to her.

"Well, I figure we've seen everything but if you want…" he reached to get a shirt before Sakura exclaimed, "No! It's okay!" She realized what she had said and clapped a hand over her mouth. Syaoran grinned and reaching over the bed, pulled her in as he lay down next to her. Grabbing her waist, he inhaled the scent of her hair and murmured something incoherent.

"What did you say?" Sakura asked, looking up at his face.

"I said I'm going public with you tomorrow," he replied. Seeing the shock on her face, he quickly backtracked. "But if you don't want to yet, we don't have to. Sorry, I shouldn't' have made that decision on my own." He babbled on for a while until he felt soft lips meeting his. He looked down into the loving eyes of his girlfriend.

"Why not," she smiled. "Now they'll be able to see how the monster Syaoran Li has a heart."

Syaoran faked a pout before tickling her sides, sending her into a fit of giggles. The giggles could be heard throughout the mansion. In a master bedroom in some other part of the castle, a Yelan Li stroked a photo of her husband, whispering, "You would love her, dear. She's exactly what Syaoran needs."


End file.
